March 10, 2007

Viet Hoa Market

Viet Hoa, a great vietnamese market on Cleveland, is a little-known treasure in Memphis. Where can you find chinese broccoli? Frozen Dim Sum? Asian pottery? Lime leaves? Live lobster and dungeness crab? Viet Hoa. I love to browse the aisles and think of what I would create with the many unknown ingredients. Although the produce section is primarily asian, you can also find vegetables and herbs commonly used in mexican cooking. From $0.99 for a package of eight poblano peppers, $7.99 for an enormous bottle of Goya olive oil (some of the best inexpensive olive oil I have found), quince paste, all the way to banana-leaf wrapped dried bamboo shoots, the store is a culinary world tour. There is an entire aisle dedicated to noodles, an enormous live seafood selection, and a surprising hot bar with peking duck, cabbage, and other lunch-y items I have yet to try. Recent purchases: 2 cans garbanzo beans, 1 can sliced beets, 1 bunch gai lan (chinese broccoli), 5 grapefruits for $1, 1 six-pack Yazoo Brewing Co. Dos Perros Ale, pumpkin seeds, almonds, 1 can sliced mango, and 1 quart homemade kimchee. Chad made korean barbecue for dinner the other night, and we ate the kimchee with that. The garbanzo beans and beets are for a spread that is made with garlic, tahini, and lemon juice. The grapefruits are for cocktails with tequila and grenadine. The mango and almonds were used to make mole sauce...more on that to come!

Also worth noting: Viet Hoa is right next door to the best Chinese food in the city of Memphis at Lobster King Restaurant. More on that to come as well!!

Really great post, Thank you for sharing This knowledge.Excellently written article, if only all bloggers offered the same level of content as you, the internet would be a much better place. Please keep it up!